The Drums
by SailorNeo
Summary: Rose Tyler is the head of a team for Torchwood, saving the universe. After one particular mission, things go a little wrong. Reunion fic.
1. Chapter 1

Title: _The Drums  
_Author: Sailorneo  
Summary: Rose Tyler is the head of a team for Torchwood, saving the universe. After one particular mission, things go a little wrong. Reunion fic.

Chapter One:

Rose had been in the alternate universe for thirteen months now. She'd seen the doctor for the last time seven months ago. Her mum was busy taking care of the seven week old Jared. Pete was over the moon with the birth of his son, as he had never thought that children were in his future. And not only had he gotten a daughter, he had also been given a son.

Rose was the leader of an exploration/keeping-the-world-from-ending team for Torchwood. Mickey was on it with her, as her second in command. He'd adapted quite well to this new universe, she found.

Ryssen O'Connell was next. Rose found her fascinating. She was a lot like the Doctor actually. Ryssen tended to go into the same techno babble mode, and knew quite a fair bit about aliens. She even dressed slightly like him. Trench coats and Chucks were a common element of her wardrobe. When the two had been getting ready for a Torchwood function at Ryssen's flat, Rose had spied at least four pairs of pinstriped slacks, three pairs of pinstriped cords, and at least two pinstriped jackets. One of them had even been a lurid neon pink and lime green. Lined along the bottom of the closet had to have been at least three dozen pairs of Chucks. No two pairs were the same, and one pair was even knee high!

Jake was also on their team as he and Mickey got along really well. Rose had her suspicions about the two of them, but they were nothing but professional on the clock. Jake had become a really good friend to Rose in the time after her permanent arrival in the universe.

The group got along fantastically. After an episode of saving the world from yet another alien invasion, they would head to a chippie near the headquarters of Torchwood in Cardiff.

After their most recent escapade, the group first headed to the small flat in town that Mickey, Jake, and Rose had for when they couldn't get to the Tyler mansion after a late night. Two days after Jackie had taken over the mansion as "Lady of the house," she had basically ordered Mickey that he was moving in. Jake had quickly been ordered the same thing. And apparently Jackie was contemplating asking Ryssen to move in too. Jackie had developed a serious case of "empty nest syndrome" without ever having anyone leave her.

They showered and changed into clean clothes, Ryssen darting to her flat and back (it was a three minute walk away) and headed to the nearby chippie. The fact that this one was one of their messier ones meant they pigged out on chips.

"Can we officially say that the Anions officially suck?" Jake asked.

"I think we can," Ryssen sighed. "I had to wash my hair four times to get all the mud out." She looked at her hair and said, "And you know what, I don't even think I got it all out."

"I'm glad I got to the shower first," Rose laughed. "After the two of them it was covered in mud."

"I don't even want to know what Jackie's goin' to think," Mickey said.

"That should be amusing," Ryssen said, shoving another chip in her mouth. "We headin' there for dinner? Or we eating at the pub?"

"Prolly home," Rose said. "Mum's been gettin' a bit annoyed that we haven't been there much."

"We were in Uruguay for two weeks on assignment. That's not our fault. That's her husband's fault," Ryssen said with a laugh.

"Good point," Mickey said.

The small group of friends walked back to the Tyler estate instead of getting Mickey's car out of the Torchwood car park. It wasn't that far of a walk and it was nice outside. "You want to tell your mum that we're coming for food?" Ryssen asked. "And that I'm still hungry?"

Rose grinned, and pulled out her mobile.

"How on earth can you _still_ be hungry?" Mickey asked.

"All you do is eat and you never seem to gain any weight," Jake said. "I'm going to gain at least five pounds from the chips and whatever's for dinner tonight."

"It's all the running we do," Rose said as her mum picked up. "Hi mum, just wanted to let you know—"

Arms circled around Rose's waist and she heard Ryssen let out an indignant cry of "Get off me!" while Mickey grunted as a hand clamped over his mouth. She couldn't see Jake but was fairly certain the same was happening.

"Rose?" her mum asked. "Rose, what do you want me to know?...Rose!"

Then everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: _The Drums  
_Author: Sailorneo  
Summary: Rose Tyler is the head of a team for Torchwood, saving the universe. After one particular mission, things go a little wrong. Reunion fic.

Chapter Two:

Ryssen landed flat on her face on a very uncomfortable, hard surface. She lay still for a moment, willing the headache that had sprung into existence to vanish.

Of course, it didn't.

"I'm gonna hurt whoever did this in the most violent, bloody, painful way I can think of," she groaned.

A sharp voice cut through the silence. "Who the hell are you?"

"Oh bugger. People," Ryssen sighed, rolling over and staring at the ceiling in front of her. Wait. Ceilings meant indoors. She lifted her head slightly, wincing at the pain it caused, and stared at the man in the suit standing over her.

"Again. Who are you?" he asked.

"Special agent Ryssen O'Connell," she said. "I work for Torchwood 3."

The man blinked at her. "Torchwood?" he asked.

"Yeah, you deaf?" Ryssen asked. "And where the hell are my mates?" she asked, suddenly noticing they weren't in the room. She shot up to a sitting position and clutched at her head. "Note to self," she muttered. "Do not attempt to move quickly when you have a blinding headache…"

"Master, what shall we do to her?" a really annoying voice asked.

"You do anythin' and I'll kick your arse from here to the edge of the universe," Ryssen said, getting to her feet. "Now where the hell are my mates? Cuz if you hurt her I'm not gonna hurt you her _mum_ is. And her mum is the scariest person in the universe—seriously. The Drelones are like puppies compared to Jackie Tyler in full on scary bitch mode."

There was a strangled sound from the floor behind Mr. Grumpy and Ryssen peered around Mr. Grumpy to see who it was—an old man in a trench coat, a brown and blue pinstriped suit, and trainers—not just any trainers, but the trainers she herself fancied.

"Jackie Tyler?" he asked.

"Yeah, why?" Ryssen asked. "And if you say that the Vitex Queen can't be a bitch, then you've never met her."

"What the hell is Vitex?" Mr. Grumpy asked.

"How do you not know what Vitex is? Have you been living under a rock for the past twenty years?" Ryssen asked in shock.

"Vitex doesn't exist here," the old man said in a hoarse voice.

"What do you mean _here_?" Ryssen asked, her eyes narrowed. "We're still on Earth, aren't we?"

"Yes," Mr. Grumpy said. He whirled to Mr. Old Man. "And _you_, stop talking. This is _my_ moment. You always spoiled things."

"Shut up," Ryssen said. "Who are you?" she asked Mr. Grumpy dangerously.

It was almost as if he had been waiting for that question. "I," he said, "am the Master."

oOoOoOo

Mickey and Jake both came to in a tangled heap, complete with splitting headaches. "Ow…" Mickey muttered, raising a hand to his pounding skull. "Mind budging over?"

"Head hurts too much to move," Jake muttered under his breath, digging his head further into Mickey's stomach—thus negating his comment.

"Hey, where's Rose?" Mickey asked after risking a glance around. "And Ryssen?"

Jake tentatively lifted his head up. "Where are _we_?"

"I don't know," Mickey said, looking around. "S'like we're in a closet or something."

"This mean we've got to come out again?" Jake joked.

"Shut up," Mickey said. "How are we gonna get out?"

"Dunno," Jake said, hesitantly getting up into a sitting position. "Wait, there's a door. It's right behind you."

"Great," Mickey said and the two men got up and pulled open the door. The room on the other side of the door was filled with these floating ball things. They swiveled in their direction.

"You're not the Master," they all said in unison, which creeped both Jake and Mickey out.

Things—painful looking things—started sliding out of them and Jake and Mickey hurriedly darted back into the closet, slamming the door shut. "This doesn't look good," Jake muttered as the door began to shake.

"Not at all," Mickey said, looking futilely around the empty closet for some sort of weapon.

oOoOoOo

Rose groaned and rolled onto her side, curling up into a little ball. Her head hurt. Badly. The grating under her hurt her side where she lay on it.

Wait.

Grating?

She tentatively opened her eyes and gasped, shooting to a sitting position. She ignored the pounding in her temples as she stared at the red and black vision of the TARDIS. "No…" she whispered in agony. "No!"

She stumbled to her feet and went to the console. "What happened to him? Where's the Doctor? He wouldn't do this to you!"

She knew that she was home. It was the universe she was born in…but something was horribly wrong with the TARDIS. The red and black twisted violently through the room, giving her chills. The place looked evil and corrupted.

The presence she had always felt in her mind from the TARDIS was still gone. She wanted to weep with the loss of it. When she had first been on the other side before she came back to him, it had bowled her over. She literally had doubled over and marveled over the loss of something that she had taken for granted.

She felt that same loss—though decidedly more pronounced—later when she and the Doctor were separated by the Void.

Rose leaned heavily on the console, tears brimming in her eyes.

_Help_.

Rose started at the sound of the weak and pained voice of the TARDIS. She had spoken to her before, but she never sounded like this. "How?" she asked.

_Bad Wolf_.

There was a surge of power through Rose's hands. She tried to pull away, but golden light overtook her.

oOoOoOo

"The Master. You're the Master?"

"Yes," Mr. Grumpy said.

"Lovely," Ryssen muttered. "Now, what did you do this time?"

Mr. Grumpy raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean 'this time?'"

"I mean, what the hell did you do this time to try and kill everyone?" Ryssen asked wearily. "Cuz that's what you try to do every single time. And it gets really boring after a while." She looked up at the floating ball. "And what is that?"

"Toclaphane," Mr. Grumpy/The Master said.

"You know as well as I do that that's not a real word," Ryssen said, getting to her feet. The headache had lessened somewhat and was now only a dull throb in the back of her skull.

"Who are you?" Mr. Grumpy/The Master asked.

"Ryssen," was all she said. She stared down at the old man and young woman on the floor. She noticed for the first time that there was a haggard looking young man on the floor a little away from them. "And you three?" she asked.

"They don't matter," Mr. Grumpy/The Master said.

"Everyone matters," Ryssen said firmly. "Everyone has a purpose in life."

There was a rocking force wave—not quite the air moving in a concussive blast, but definitely powerful. Ryssen stared in shock. "Rose," Mr. Old Man whispered.

"Jackie is going to kill me!" Ryssen shrieked, taking off out the door. Mr. Grumpy/The Master followed after her with a quick trot.

Ryssen raced through the hallways, her mind frantically trying to figure out what to do. "Mickey! Jake!" she screamed. "Where the bloody hell are you?!"

"Mickey?" a voice asked from behind her. "You don't mean Mickey Smith, do you?"

"Yes!" Ryssen said in exasperation. She turned a corner and skidded to a halt. The door to the TARDIS was wide open and Rose stood in it, glowing with a fierce golden light. "Oh Rassilion," Ryssen said, utterly horrified.

"What did I do?" Mr. Old Man whispered in a pained voice from behind her.

"And who and what is that?" Mr. Grumpy/The Master asked in irritation.

"That, you lunatic, is Rose Tyler…and she's become a goddess of Time…" Ryssen said.

"Really?" Mr. Grumpy/The Master asked in a highly interested tone of voice. "Now that changes things."

"Touch her and I'll make you wish you burned with Gallifrey," Mr. Old Man said venomously.

"He cannot touch me," Rose said. "I am Bad Wolf." She looked at Mr. Old Man with a smile in her eyes. "I am fine, my Doctor. Nothing will happen to me." Her gaze hardened as she looked at the Master. "You are an evil man." She held up a hand and grinned in satisfaction as gold streamed from it and into the TARDIS. The colors changed from black and red to the appropriate gold and green slowly.

"You can do nothing," she said.

The Toclaphane that had followed the Master vanished in an enraged squeal. "What did you do?" the Master asked in anger.

"They cannot kill if there is no paradox machine," Rose said with a smirk. Mickey and Jake appeared in a dull 'bamf.' "I can give life," she said, gold flowing from her to surround the Doctor. The years melted off of him, pain evident in his eyes as he stared at her.

"And I can take it," she said, gold flowing around the Master. "However, you do not deserve to be killed for what you have done. You deserve to be killed for what you would have done. Yet I shall not kill you. But you shall be punished. For eternity shall you spend in the Void, looking on the place you once called home."

And with that, the Master was gone and Rose collapsed, the Doctor lunging forward to catch her.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: _The Drums  
_Author: Sailorneo  
Summary: Rose Tyler is the head of a team for Torchwood, saving the universe. After one particular mission, things go a little wrong. Reunion fic.

Chapter Three:

The first thing Rose saw when she opened her eyes was the Doctor's face. "Hi," she said quietly.

He crushed her to him, burying his face in her neck. She wrapped her arms around him, placing her cheek on his head. God it felt good to hold him again.

"Okay, I'm confused," Ryssen said. "Very, very confused—Oh for Pete's sake you dingbat! You let her look into the heart of the TARDIS!"

The Doctor paid Ryssen no mind, just pulled Rose closer to him. "And you are?" she heard Jack ask—she would have to talk to him in a moment or two. Or an hour. Or an eternity. Whenever the Doctor let go. Not that she was complaining.

"Who are you?" Jack asked Ryssen.

"Ryssen," she said.

"You've mentioned that," Jack said. "But how do you know the Doctor?"

Jack waited patiently for a response but only got, "God, you did forget, didn't you?" a minute later.

"I forgot how you know the Doctor?" Jack asked.

Ryssen shook her head. "No, it's not that."

"Then how do you know the Doctor?" Jack asked, impatience lacing his tone.

Ryssen waved a hand at him distractedly as she stared at the Doctor. A fond smile graced her lips and she rolled her eyes.

Rose was greatly enjoying being held by the Doctor. It had been far, far too long since the last time they had. And if she wasn't mistaken, there was something wet slowly trickling down her neck. But that was fine, it meant he missed her as much as she missed him.

He let her go a bit, but kept his arms around her. He sniffed almost imperceptibly, and lifted his head a bit. He looked at her and smiled. Not the manic smile he had used on both of his faces, but the slow one that lit up his face and eyes. It was _her _smile. Love radiated out of that smile, and his head dipped towards hers.

A slow, languid kiss; the kiss long awaited by both parties.

"Finally," Ryssen sighed just as Jack did.

The Doctor pulled back from Rose and smiled at her again. "I love you," he said.

Rose's heart overflowed with love, "Love you too," she said.

"Okay, now that that's over with," Mickey said. "Can we move back onto how the hell did we get here?"

"That would have been my irritating family," Ryssen said. "All right, everybody into the TARDIS."

The Doctor stood, pulled Rose up, and pulled her flush against him. He kissed her again, another slow and patient one; one that said they had all the time in all the universes. He tugged her into the TARDIS and everyone else followed, Ryssen rolling her eyes heavenward again.

"Lord you two are pathetic," she said. She headed to the console and closed her eyes briefly. "Somebody else is explaining to Jackie," she said.

There was a sudden lurch and suddenly the TARDIS was falling. Everyone flew up a few inches and the Doctor and Rose held onto each other tightly. Ryssen shrieked and hurled herself at a lever, pulling it down. The falling suddenly stopped, jerking everyone onto the floor, Ryssen included.

"You could have mentioned that we were in the _air_!" Ryssen said in extreme annoyance.

"Sorry," the Doctor said. "Didn't think about it."

"Where are we?" three very frightened looking people said.

"In the Vortex," Ryssen said, sitting on the edge of the console.

"The _what_?" one girl said.

"We're in the TARDIS," another girl said.

"It's bigger on the inside," the frightened man said.

"Does anyone have a unique thought in their head anymore?" Ryssen sighed. "So…The Tyler Estate."

"Actually, Rose should call Jackie before we get there," Mickey said.

"Good idea. Rose, call your mum," the Doctor said.

"I'll make sure she doesn't hit you," Rose said, patting his cheek.

"I am not afraid of your mother," the Doctor said.

"Yes you are," Mickey said. "Granted, I don't know who _isn't_ afraid of Jackie Tyler."

Rose pulled out her mobile. "No reception," she said. The Doctor pulled it out of her hand and once again took his sonic screwdriver to her mobile. Granted, this was a different one then the one he had turned into a superphone at the end of the Earth…

Since he had to let go of her hand to work both the sonic screwdriver and the phone, she felt a bit of loss. Then her phone was fixed, the screwdriver was gone, and his hand was in hers again.

She dialed and her mum answered immediately. "Rose! Rose, are you all right? You hung up, are you all right?"

"I'm fine, mum," Rose said, tucking her head onto the Doctor's shoulder. "I'm better than ever actually…" She frowned and looked up at Ryssen. "How'd you do that anyways?"

"I'll explain later. Just tell your mum that we're all coming. And that I want to see the baby."

"We're fine mum, us and some extras are coming. Ryss wants to see the baby and please tell me you've got food," Rose said.

"Yes, but you'll have a lot of explaining to do," Jackie said.

"Fine, mum," Rose said. "See you soon."

"Did you work off all those chips already?" Jake asked.

"What, summoning the essence of Bad Wolf takes a lot out of me," Rose said.

"You're going to have to explain that bit to me," the Doctor said.

"You didn't take it all out of me," Rose said. "Part of it stayed with me. The TARDIS did it to keep me safe. It won't hurt me. She explained everything to me."

"She did, did she?" the Doctor asked. "What everything?"

"Oh, just that I killed the Dalek Emperor, you kissed the Time Vortex out of me to save me—using a very corny pick up line I might add, and that you moped for quite a long time while you were trying to find a way to talk to me," Rose said.

"What corny pick up line?" Jack asked.

"Well I said, 'My head hurts,' and then he said, 'I think you need a doctor,' before he kissed me," Rose said.

"Yup, corny," Ryssen agreed.

"It's not corny," Jack said.

"Only you would think that it wasn't," Rose said.

"It wasn't a pick up line!" the Doctor said. "You were dying!"

There was a slight quiver in his voice and Rose smiled at him. "I know. I was stupid…But I didn't want you to die. And thank you," she said, leaning in to kiss him again.

"If all you two are going to do is snog, I think I'm kidnapping the TARDIS," Ryssen said.

The TARDIS bumped slightly and she strode to the doors. "Wait, we're here?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, why?" Ryssen asked.

"There wasn't any bumping or hurling about," Jack said.

"Yeah, well, the lunkhead failed his driving test so badly they wouldn't let him retake it," Ryssen told them as she moved to open the doors. She paused and turned around. "Okay, I still don't know your names," she said, pointing to the three frightened people and the other girl.

"Martha Jones," the girl who wasn't frightened said. "I'm the Doctor's Companion. And now that Rose's here, he can stop whining and moping." She turned to the other three near her. "They're my family. Sister Tish, mum, and dad."

"Gotcha," Ryssen said. "And you?" she asked the final man.

"Captain Jack Harkness," he said with a grinning leer.

"Don't try it, Jack," the Doctor said. "She's off limits."

"Why?" Jack asked. "You can't have both Rose _and_ her."

"He doesn't. And he has no right to say if I'm off limits. Well, unless I'm unconscious. Then he can go all 'Oncoming Storm' on whoever," Ryssen said, pulling open the doors.

Jackie Tyler stood there, her mouth open. When she saw that it really was the TARDIS, her jaw clenched and she stared at the Doctor. "You, are a dead man," she said.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: _The Drums  
_Author: gate-ship  
Characters: Rose Tyler, Tenth Doctor, Martha Jones, Jackie Tyler, Pete Tyler, Mickey Smith, Jack Harkness, Jake, the rest of the Jones clan except for Leo, OC…so basically a bunch of people…  
Summary: Rose Tyler is the head of a team for Torchwood, saving the universe. After one particular mission, things go a little wrong. Reunion fic.

Chapter Four:

Rose felt the Doctor gulp. "Mum, don't go slappin' him," she said. "He honestly thought we'd never see each other again."

"Then 'ow come he's here?" Jackie asked.

"That would have been my family. Who I will deal with at a later date," Ryssen said. "Why don't we all go into the house? It would be more comfortable."

"Where are we, Martha?" Mrs. Jones asked.

"I don't know mum," Martha said.

"Okay…" Ryssen said.

"I'll explain," Jackie said.

"No," the Doctor said. "You couldn't possibly explain."

"He's an alien," Jackie said, pointing to the Doctor. "He met my daughter and she traveled with him. This is his spaceship. It travels through time too. He may be completely insane, but he kept my daughter safe. Even sent her back when he was goin' to die. Granted, Rose went after him, but whatever. You're in an alternate universe right now. I was born and lived in yours, but I live here now. You're perfectly safe."

The Doctor stared at Jackie. "Well…that works…" he said.

"…Alternate universe?" Mrs. Jones asked in a faint voice.

"For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction," the Doctor said.

"That's physic's, lack wit," Ryssen said. "Every time you're faced with a choice, there's a universe that's created for the choice or choices that you didn't make. Nobody knows how many there are, and there's this thing called the Void that separates them all."

"S'like when you're almost done with a bowl of cereal," Jackie piped in. "The milk's the Void and the Cheerios are the universes. Only when the Cheerios touch, that's bad."

The Doctor stared at Ryssen and Jackie. "It's _my_ job to explain," he said petulantly. "It's not fair if you two do it for me!"

"It's all right," Rose said, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "You can explain everything to me."

"But you already know," the Doctor said.

"Not about everything. Like how the hell Ryssen got us here," Rose said.

"…That I'm not too sure of either," the Doctor said.

"Well I'm hungry. And I want to see the baby," Ryssen said, flouncing out of the TARDIS.

Rose went after her, pulling the Doctor along with her. Jake and Mickey followed, and so did Jackie.

"Wait for me!" Jack called, running out too.

Martha looked at her mum, dad, and sister. "Come on, it'll be fine," she said.

"He's an alien?" Tish asked.

"Yeah," Martha said.

oOoOoOo

To say Pete was surprised to see the Doctor was an understatement. He stared at the Doctor for a full five minutes before saying, "How…"

"Me," Ryssen said. "Come on, I've got explaining to do. And where's the baby?"

"He's napping," Pete said. "Finally went down ten minutes ago."

"To the kitchen then," Jackie said, leading the way. Once there, she ushered the three cooks out. They were used to Jackie frequently kicking them out of their own domain, and went without protest. Jackie began preparing tea while Rose dove at the fridge.

"What does anyone want?" she asked. "We've got nearly everything."

"Chocolate," Ryssen said, going to peer into the fridge next to Rose. "Ooh! Chocolate pudding! Score!" Ryssen said, pulling out the container. Jackie handed her a bowl and spoon and Ryssen happily went to the table and sat down, scooping pudding into her bowl.

Rose got out her desired food—chocolate ice cream—and Mickey and Jake got out what they wanted. The three went to the table while everyone but Jackie and Pete stared at them. "Take what you want, seriously," Rose said.

The Doctor shrugged and sat in between Rose and Ryssen, dipping a finger into the pudding. "Oi! That does _not _mean you can eat out of my bowl with your hands!" Ryssen said indignantly.

The Doctor turned to Rose with a pouting expression and she shook her head. "Spoon," she said. He sighed and grabbed hers out of her hand, resulting in a smack and, "I didn't mean my spoon."

"Explain, Ryss," Jake said. "Please."

"Okay…So, we were walking along and then BAM! We get snatched away and land on a plane in another universe. I'm betting that was my family cuz I'm half Romulan. And Romulan's have this secret ability to phase through universes without using the Void. To use Jackie's example of the cereal, we hop from Cheerio to Cheerio."

"…You're an alien?" Pete asked. "How did you pass the physical for Torchwood?"

"I fudged it. Romulan DNA is close to human DNA, only we're sorta immortal," Ryssen said.

"I'm not even going to ask how exactly you did that," Pete sighed, leaning against the counter next to his wife.

"That's a good idea," Ryssen said. "So, since I'm only half Romulan there has to be another half of me. Which would be Time Lord."

Everyone in the room who knew what a Time Lord was stared at her in shock.

"More specifically, I'm lunkhead here's half sister," Ryssen added.

The same people staring now stared with jaws dropped.


	5. Chapter 5

Title: _The Drums  
_Author: gate-ship  
Characters: Rose Tyler, Tenth Doctor, Martha Jones, Jackie Tyler, Pete Tyler, Mickey Smith, Jack Harkness, Jake, the rest of the Jones clan except for Leo, OC…so basically a bunch of people…  
Summary: Rose Tyler is the head of a team for Torchwood, saving the universe. After one particular mission, things go a little wrong. Reunion fic.

Chapter Five:

"Sister?" Rose asked.

"Half sister," the Doctor corrected.

"Still," Jack said. "You said you were the last of the Time Lords."

"Well I was. Or I thought I was," the Doctor said.

"I was here for a hundred or so years. Was in Bolivia when you were both times," Ryssen said.

"Why were you in Bolivia?" the Doctor asked.

"Beach," Ryssen said. "They've got a lovely beach down there."

"Bolivia doesn't have a beach, it's inland," Martha said.

"Here it's Bolivia and Chile. But it's called Bolivia," Rose said.

"Okay then," Martha said slowly.

"No, it is," Jackie said, bringing the tea tray over to the table. "Come on, Mr. and Mrs. Jones and Tish, come and sit."

The three hesitantly sat at the table, taking tea cups.

"Care to explain some more?" Jackie asked once everyone was seated.

"Oh, I was done. Family took us there, dumped us with the Master, end of story. Though Jake, Mickey, where were you two? I'll assume Rose was in the TARDIS," Ryssen said.

Rose nodded and the Doctor stole her spoon again. "Stop that, get your own," she said, stealing it back after he took a bite.

"We were in a closet," Mickey said. Rose and Ryssen snickered. "It's not funny. There were a bunch of those ball things outside of it."

"What were those?" Jake asked.

"The Master called them Toclaphane. But that's not a real word," the Doctor said.

Rose frowned and took another bite of her ice cream. "They looked strange," Martha said. "And they sounded strange too. Like all they wanted was to hurt."

Rose took a bigger bite of ice cream. "They wanted to hurt us pretty badly," Jake said. "Tried to get the door down."

"That wasn't their fault," Rose mumbled into the next bite of ice cream.

"Rose?" the Doctor asked. "What do you know about it?"

"The Master made them that way. He went to the end of humanity and he turned them evil. He made them that way," Rose said.

"They were human?" Martha asked, horrified.

Rose nodded, her eyes on the table. "How did you know that?" Mickey asked.

"Because of Bad Wolf," Rose said quietly. "Made me psychic for a bit there. Got it all out of his head."

"You were psychic?" Jackie asked. "What's that mean?"

"You know when I went back to him? After he sent me back?" Rose asked her mum. "Well, I looked into the heart of the TARDIS. Nobody's supposed to do that. It'll kill even a Time Lord."

"What?" Jackie asked, both horrified and shocked. "Why didn't you die?"

"I took it from her," the Doctor said. "It's why I regenerated. It ended up killing me."

"You call that safe?" Mrs. Jones asked. "Your daughter almost died!"

"And he protected her," Jackie said. "He'll always protect her. And your daughter."

oOoOoOo

Much later, after the tea was drunk and snacks had been consumed, Rose and the Doctor managed to get some alone time.

The fact that this alone time had been the result of Jamie waking up and the two running up four flights of stairs wasn't important. Her bedroom door slammed behind her and she sagged against it.

"It's pink," the Doctor said. "Why is it _pink_?"

"I like pink," Rose said.

"I bet if you'd been named Lilac that you would like purple," the Doctor said.

"Cheeky git," Rose said with an affectionate kiss on the cheek. "So, we need to talk. Now."

The Doctor sighed. "Really? Why talking?"

"Who would have thought that you wouldn't want to talk?" Rose joked, pulling him over to one of the couches.

"Oh, I can think of better things to do," the Doctor said, sitting down and pulling her onto his lap. "Like this," he said, claiming her lips. After a minute of kissing, his lips trailed a path down to her neck where he began to nip and lick. "Or this," he added.

Rose's eyes rolled into her head. She officially adored his oral fixation. But they did have to talk. "Mm…Doctor…" she said, meaning it to be a reprimand but it came out as more of a moan.

"Or this…" he said, doing wonderful things to the point where her neck met her shoulder.

"Oh…You have to stop," she said on a breathy moan.

"Stopping is bad," the Doctor said, kissing his way back to her mouth. "Stopping is very bad."

His mouth covered hers once more and his tongue darted in between her lips. _'Talk. We have to…talk…'_ Rose thought. She meant to push him away slightly, but instead her fists curled into his jacket, pulling him closer.

After all rational thought had fled her mind, he pulled back and said with a mischievous grin, "So, Rose. What did you want to talk about?"

She could only stare at him mutely for a few seconds before saying, "That's not fair. At all."

"Well, you wanted to talk," the Doctor said, leaning back.

"Gah," Rose said. "You're mean." She snuggled into him and said, "Yes, we need to talk. About a few things. Why'd you kiss me?"

"Ryss is telepathic. She was yelling at me," the Doctor said. "I asked her if you had anyone over here and she said no. Then she told me to kiss you. But I wanted to.

Rose grinned and kissed him again. "Now, onto a more serious question. Why did you look so defeated through the Master's eyes? What happened to you?"

The Doctor was silent for a moment and said softly, "I lost you. Even though I sent you with your mum, you came back…and I nearly lost you to the Void. The fact that Pete had saved you was only a small consolation. I love you, Rose, and I had lost you for good. And then when I didn't get to finish telling you…"

"It's all right. I already knew…you saying it only firmed it in my heart," Rose whispered.

"You knew?" the Doctor asked in surprise.

Rose nodded, "You have this smile. I call it 'my smile.' It's all full of love."

"Really?" the Doctor asked. "You mean this one?" He smiled her smile and she grinned in response.

"That one," she said, kissing him. "Would you tell me all that you did with this Martha Jones?"

The Doctor pulled Rose closer to him and began to tell his story of the past year without her.

oOoOoOo

Martha was feeling very awkward about being in the Tyler mansion. Somehow being in an alternate universe didn't really feel all that strange to her, but for some reason, being in this mansion did. Somehow if the Doctor had been with her it wouldn't have been so strange, but he and Rose had vanished hours ago.

She basically was comforting her sister and parents, making sure they were okay and that they weren't about to have a mental breakdown. Which was likely on her mother's case, as she was showing definite signs of an impending one.

Jackie was being incredibly nice, saying on and on how horrible and rude it was of the Doctor to just dump them all here. And when Jackie had found out that her mum watched many of the same shows, the two sat down and began to chat over what happened in the past year. As Martha's mum was a huge gossip, it worked out fine and her mum was calming down considerably.

"I vote for bed," Ryssen yawned from across the kitchen.

"You're tired?" Jake asked.

"They took us across the universes wrong. They skimmed the surface of the Void. And skipping it completely makes me tired because I'm only half Romulan. So yes, I am tired," Ryssen said.

"Now that you mention it," Mickey said, "I'm tired too."

"I had the maids make up some rooms," Jackie said. "So if you all would like to sleep too."

"That would be lovely," Tish said. "Today's taken a lot out of me…"

"Where's the Doctor?" Jack asked, causing Ryssen to elbow him in the ribs. Luckily Jackie hadn't seemed to notice.

"Don't say anything," she hissed.

"Why?" Jack hissed back.

"Because the two of them are currently very naked," Ryssen said.

"How do you know?" he asked.

"Psychic. And he's being really loud…Should teach him to not do that now that there's another psychic around…" Ryssen murmured. "So yeah, they're naked."

"That's not fair," Jack said. "I always figured the first time they did it that I'd be there."

Ryssen rolled her eyes. "God, you're worse than me," she said.

"What's that mean?" Jack asked.

"I hit on lots of people," Ryssen said. "Has to do with the Romulan DNA."

"Really?" Jack asked in interest. "Would you hit on me?"

"Well, you're attractive," Ryssen said.

"And nothing else?" Jack asked, feigning hurt.

"And you do seem to be immortal if that whole dead to live thing was interpreted correctly," Ryssen added. "And I have been hitting on you. You just haven't noticed."

"If I didn't notice, then you weren't hitting on me," Jack said.

"I was, but right now I'm too tired. Night," Ryssen said, darting out of the kitchen.

Jack stared after her. "Oh that's not fair."


	6. Chapter 6

Title: _The Drums  
_Author: Sailorneo  
Characters: Rose Tyler, Tenth Doctor, Martha Jones, Jackie Tyler, Pete Tyler, Mickey Smith, Jack Harkness, Jake, the rest of the Jones clan except for Leo, OC…so basically a bunch of people…  
Summary: Rose Tyler is the head of a team for Torchwood, saving the universe. After one particular mission, things go a little wrong. Reunion fic.

Chapter Six:

If Jackie Tyler noticed in the morning that Rose and the Doctor came down from Rose's room at exactly the same time, he looked rumpled, and both had smug, satisfied grins on their faces, she said nothing.

Ryssen and Jack though, exchanged meaningful looks and began snickering. The Doctor gave them his patent-pending "Oncoming Storm" glare, though with the way his hair looked worse than ever, it set them off into full peals of laughter.

"Will you two shut up?" Rose said, smacking them both on the back of the head as she walked by them.

"That hurt!" Ryssen said. "See if I ever do anything nice for you again."

Rose rolled her eyes and went to go get breakfast from the sideboard. "It did not hurt. And you didn't do anything nice for me other than bringing me back here. Your family did the rest."

"Which reminds me," the Doctor said. "How exactly do we get to them?"

"Go back over there, I take us to Romula, beg entrance by yelling at mom so everyone can hear, and then we're in," Ryssen said.

"You have to beg entrance?" Mickey asked.

"Yup. It's so everyone can stay safe. They've got this weird thing there. But I have to ask to let us in. Though once I do that, they'll let me in," Ryssen said.

"You sure about that? Because I'd hate to get there and not get in," the Doctor said.

"They'll let me in. Now shut up," Ryssen said, digging into her breakfast once more.

"So, you'll be going then?" Jackie asked. Rose heard the dull edge to her mother's voice, and so did the Doctor.

"If Ryss will come with us, Rose can come back whenever she likes," he said.

"Like I'm letting you over there alone. Plus, mum's over there," Ryssen said.

"You're both leaving?" Mickey asked.

"Oh, don't you worry. I'm coming back often, probably more often than Rose. But you all could come meet my family if you wanted to," Ryssen said.

"I think I'll stay here," Jackie said, much happier now that she knew her daughter would be returning probably more often than she had before with Ryssen's help. "I do have Jared to watch. And Pete's busy with Torchwood."

"Busy how busy?" Rose asked.

"Oh, just another lab exploded," Jackie said. "But apparently it was the one that had all of the oil in it."

"It under control?" Mickey asked, rising.

"It's fine even though they woke us up at three o'clock," Jackie said. "You all should go though. I imagine the Jones will wanting to be getting home."

"All right then," the Doctor said. "Off we go as soon as breakfast is over."

"You mean off we go to pack as soon as breakfast is over," Rose said. "Mickey? Jake? You two want to come along?"

The two men looked at each other. "Why not?" they finally said.

"Ah! That means packing later!" the Doctor said. "And besides, Rose you still have clothes on the TARDIS. And Ryss, all you ever wore was out of the wardrobe anyways."

"Fine," Rose sighed. "We'll go after breakfast."

Twenty minutes later everyone was in the TARDIS and Ryssen was standing at the console. "So, where to?" she asked.

"What do you mean, 'where to?'" the Doctor asked.

"I'm going to assume that the Jones don't live here in our universe, smarty pants," Ryssen said. "So, Martha, where do you live?"

"London," Martha said.

"London it is," Ryssen said. "Fire her up, Doctor."

As the Doctor did his magic, Ryssen closed her eyes. A crashing thump later and they'd landed right in front of the Jones's home. "There you are," the Doctor said. "I'm sorry, so, so sorry for what you had to go through," he told Mrs. Jones.

"But everything worked out in the end," Martha said.

Mr. Jones, Mrs. Jones, and Tish walked out of the TARDIS. "Martha, come along," Mrs. Jones said.

Martha looked at the Doctor and made a decision. He had Rose now and didn't need her. "It's time for me to go," she said.

"Oh, don't leave on Rose's account. Or Ryssen's. Or Jack's," the Doctor said.

"It's not them. Well, it is and it's not. You don't need me with you anymore. You've got them. And I've got exams coming up."

"You sure?" the Doctor asked.

She nodded. "Yeah." She tossed him her phone as she left, saying, "When that rings, you better come back," with a smile. The Doctor smiled a half smile at her and she closed the doors.

"So…" Ryssen said after an awkward moment of silence. "My family?"

"Yup," Rose said, sliding her hand into the Doctor's. "To your family."

"Fun," Ryssen said, darting around the console and punching things in.

"You gonna let her do that?" Mickey asked.

"She knows this ship as well as I do," the Doctor said. "And she actually knows where we're going. I've never been there."

"How have you never been there and don't know where it is?" Jack asked.

"Romula is a closely guarded secret—close as the location of Gallifrey," Ryssen said, pulling a lever down.

The TARDIS jolted to a dead stop, throwing everyone on the floor.

"_Who are you?_" reverberated through their minds.

"I'm Ryssen. Now let us in," she said flippantly.

"_Ryssen. That name is unfamiliar. Leave now."_

"Oh f'r cryin' out loud!" Ryssen said and began shouting in an unfamiliar language—one the TARDIS wouldn't translate.

"What's she saying?" Rose asked the Doctor.

"I don't know. It's Romulan. TARDIS doesn't know it," he told her.

"There's a language the TARDIS doesn't know?" Rose asked, pushing herself up into a sitting position.

The Doctor did the same and nodded. "Ryssen won't bother to translate either," he added as his sister continued yelling.

"Is she going to shut up?" Jake asked in annoyance.

"Probably not," the Doctor said.

"Shutting up would be nice, Ryssen," Mickey said.

"Sounds like she's cursing now," Jack said.

"She probably is," Rose said. "She's got the 'I'm incredibly mad' expression on her face."

"Should be a while then," the Doctor said.

Five minutes later Ryssen was still shouting. "This is getting old," Jack said, leaning against one of the columns.

Rose nodded. The Doctor reached out and pulled her into him as he said, "She can go on for hours when she's mad enough."

"I don't want to see that," Jake said.

"Nobody does," Mickey added.

Five minutes after _that_, Ryssen was still yelling. "I think I have a headache," Mickey said.

"I think we all do," Rose whined, burying her head in the Doctor's neck.

"ARGH!" Ryssen said, slamming her hands onto the console. "Just because they don't like me because I'm not a bloody full Romulan doesn't mean they can go and not let me in!"

"We can't get in?" Jack asked.

"Oh, we can," Ryssen said, "but it took that long to convince them I really am me."

The TARDIS jolted to a start again, and the Doctor stood, pulling Rose to her feet as well. "Well then, let's go."

"Um…We have to wait a tic for the convoy to come to us," Ryssen said.

"Convoy?" Rose asked.

"Yeah," Ryssen said in irritation.


	7. Chapter 7

Title: _The Drums  
_Author: Sailorneo  
Characters: Rose Tyler, Tenth Doctor, Martha Jones, Jackie Tyler, Pete Tyler, Mickey Smith, Jack Harkness, Jake, the rest of the Jones clan except for Leo, OC…so basically a bunch of people…  
Summary: Rose Tyler is the head of a team for Torchwood, saving the universe. After one particular mission, things go a little wrong. Reunion fic.

Chapter Seven:

"Okay, _that_ was horrible," the Doctor said as they returned to the TARDIS some six hours later.

"I didn't think it was so bad," Jack said.

"That's because you're a sex maniac," the Doctor responded. "Why did it never cross your mind to tell us that your planet's full of sex-crazed lunatics?!" he asked, whirling on Ryssen.

"Just never did," Ryssen replied. "I mean, you always knew I was crazy for it, and mum's the same way. It's just the way we are, I guess."

The Doctor grumbled in irritation as he made his way to the console, Rose snickering at him.

It hadn't been Ryssen's family in actuality that had done the job of transporting them, but it had been at her mother's orders. In order to confront Ryssen's mother about it, they had all been forced to change into traditional Romulan attire. Which was basically a few scraps of fabric in strategic locations. Ryssen was completely comfortable in it, as was Jack—though Jack was probably more comfortable naked than he was with clothes on—while the others (and Rose included herself in the 'others' category) were not comfortable at all.

Though the outfits did have benefits. Mainly the fact that her Doctor was pretty much naked…Maybe she could sidetrack him and not let him take her home just yet.

_All you had to do was ask. You won't be going home for a bit yet._

Rose grinned in delight as the Doctor headed out of the room, calling over his shoulder, "We'll be there in ten minutes. Ryss, take us over then, would you? I'm changing out of this ridiculous thing."

Rose darted after him, the grin of delight turning into a wicked one as she saw him turn the corner she knew led to his room. "_Got_ to get this off," she heard him mutter. She hid behind the corner until she heard the door open, where she darted around and pounced on him, pushing him into the room and kicking the door closed with her foot.

The Doctor, for his part, looked extremely surprised. "Rose? What are you—" But his query abruptly ended as she kissed him. His hands went to her waist as he kissed her back for a minute before pulling back. "What's this about?"

"Your clothes," Rose said.

"You mean the fact that I'm not really wearing any?" the Doctor asked, genuinely perplexed.

"For being over 900 years old, you are incredibly dense," Rose said with a roll of her eyes. She pulled him down for another kiss, whispering, "You're nearly naked, and I've been forced to stare at you that way for nearly six hours. Add in the fact that last night was the first time that we actually _did_ anything, and you get this."

"Oh," the Doctor said wickedly. "In that case…"

oOoOoOo

Just after Rose vanished after the Doctor, Mickey and Jake left to go see if Mickey's room was still there. The two of them didn't want to stay in the clothes—or rather, lack thereof—any longer than they had to. This left Ryssen and Jack alone. After what Jack estimated was ten minutes, he asked, "Aren't we going to go to Rose's house?"

"Nope. We're sitting in the Vortex," Ryssen said from her place on the jump seat. "Rose wanted to jump the Doctor, and who was the TARDIS to complain? Apparently he's been cranky."

"So we're just sitting here?" Jack asked.

"Yup," Ryssen said. "Think I'm going to take a nap."

With that, she closed her eyes, leaving Jack to himself. Well, that just wasn't fair. She'd been teasing him ever since he met her practically, and now that the two of them were alone…she was just going to go to sleep?

"Did I forget to mention that I'm psychic?" Ryssen asked, her eyes still closed.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, you did," Jack said.

"'Kay then. As long as you know," Ryssen said.

"You're just going to sit there and sleep?" Jack asked.

"Unless I want to do something else, yes," Ryssen said. She cracked open an eye. "Or unless there's something else _you_ want to do." She grinned and sat up, stretching out her back. "And since you do want to do something else…"

Jack grinned. Looked like the Doctor wasn't going to be the only one having fun while they were stuck in the Vortex.

oOoOoOo

"Where have you all been?" Jackie asked in annoyance when they finally got back. "It's been hours."

"They didn't want to let us in, and then it took six hours to yell at my mum. They were being very annoying," Ryssen said.

"And it took you eight hours?" Jackie asked.

"Well the TARDIS hiccupped and we were stuck in the Vortex for a bit," Rose said.

"But we managed to pass the time _quite_ nicely," Ryssen added.

"I'm going to go pack," Rose said.

"Don't take forever," Ryssen said.

"Do the words 'Time Machine' mean anything to you?" Rose asked with a grin.

"Nope," Ryssen said happily. "Ooh! _I_ have to go pack!" She darted back to where they'd left the TARDIS. "Oh brother dearest! Come help me pack!"

"I am not! And I'm not taking you either! The TARDIS is not a taxi cab!" he called after her.

Faintly, the whirring of the TARDIS's engine could be heard. "Looks like she left you," Mickey said.

The Doctor scowled in her direction. "That's just not fair."

Rose laughed her way up the stairs to her room. Ryssen had better come back. The Doctor would go crazy without the TARDIS. Once in her room, Rose looked around, grinning at the sight of her very untidy bed. It had been fun to muss it up.

She went to her closet and grabbed a russack. She wasn't going to pack everything because then the Doctor would _have_ to bring her back. And anyways, why on earth would she need her all of her "Vitex" attire—i.e. all of the cocktail dresses. Oh, some of them she'd bring, just as she'd bring some of the heels. Yes, the TARDIS was able to outfit her for nearly any situation thanks to the Wardrobe, but sometimes it was nice to have her own things.

An hour into packing the Doctor came up. "I cannot stand another moment of your mother flaunting that child at me," he said.

"You're the one that brought him into existence," Rose said as she shoved more clothes into the russack. She was almost done with her everyday clothes. The dressy clothes had already been packed neatly.

"What are you doing?" the Doctor asked as Rose got out another bag and began to stuff shoes in it.

"Packing," she said simply.

"I'm not sure I'm thrilled with the concept of you packing your entire wardrobe into the TARDIS. From the looks of it, even she wouldn't be able to hold it all."

"Very funny," Rose said. "And I'm not bringing everything. And you should remember that if I pack a lot, it means I'm going to stay longer."

"That I can deal with," the Doctor said. "But do you really need fourteen pairs of shoes?"

"Yes," Rose laughed. "And if you're going to continue talking and distract me, you're going to have to leave."

The Doctor pouted, but stopped talking. After he was silent for nearly ten minutes, she began to get nervous. He had never gone this long without saying _something_. She darted a glance at him and saw him staring at her, which caused her to look away.

"Rose," he sighed. "This is boring."

"Well then go find something else to do," she told him with a laugh.

"Fine, I will," he said, getting up. She could imagine the pout on his lips as she closed the bag full of shoes. She expected him to walk out of the room, so she was surprised when his arms came around her and his nose nuzzled the back of her neck.

"This isn't what I meant," she told him, pushing his arms away.

"Well, you told me to find something else to do," the Doctor said. "And I want to amuse myself, so this is what I'm going to do."

"Doctor," Rose said, trying to keep his arms from coming around her again. "I have to finish packing."

"Oh, you can hold it off for a little longer," the Doctor said, slowly turning her around.

Needless to say, it was another good hour until Rose came downstairs.

oOoOoOo

"You sure you're leaving?" Mickey asked.

"Hey, someone has to make sure he doesn't lose Rose," Ryssen said. "And I'll be coming back."

"If he loses her, or she gets hurt, kick his arse," Jake said.

"Got it," Ryssen said with a laugh.

"Ryss!" the Doctor calls from the TARDIS doors. "Come on! You're holding us up! Places to see and people to meet, you know!"

"That'll only work if you take me to see Shakespeare!" Ryssen called back. She turned to Jackie, Pete, Mickey, and Jake once more. "Don't worry, we'll be back."

She turned and ran to the TARDIS, darting inside, waving cheerily at them before she closed the doors. The whir that Jackie and Mickey were so accustomed to hearing sounded and the TARDIS faded away.

* * *

Epilogue should be up tomorrow! 


	8. Epilogue

Title: _The Drums  
_Author: Sailorneo  
Characters: Rose Tyler, Tenth Doctor, Martha Jones, Jackie Tyler, Pete Tyler, Mickey Smith, Jack Harkness, Jake, the rest of the Jones clan except for Leo, OC…so basically a bunch of people…  
Summary: Rose Tyler is the head of a team for Torchwood, saving the universe. After one particular mission, things go a little wrong. Reunion fic.

Epilogue:

"Ooh! This is going to be _fun_!" The Doctor said happily. "I feel like Father Christmas!"

Rose laughed at the sight of him coming into the control room. His arms were piled high with presents. Things had changed so much in the time since they'd been reunited—just over two years for her mum, a bit more for her and the Doctor. They'd been on countless adventures, always popping back to the other universe. Nearly a visit once a week for Jackie, sometimes longer for them. Ryssen floated around with the Doctor and Rose for a while, but ended up settling at Torchwood with Jack.

The two of them were an interesting pair. They had a strange on-again, off-again non monogamous relationship. Rose was a little confused by it as she was beginning to think the two were in love with each other, but at least they were in an on-again phase right now.

There was a flutter in her womb and Rose smiled.

Oh yes, things had definitely changed.

Nearly a year and a half ago Rose and the Doctor had been married on the TARDIS in a ceremony with only Jack, Ryssen, and Martha present. Martha had become one of their close friends—as had some woman named Donna. Rose didn't quite know how she knew the Doctor as neither were telling.

They'd been married multiple times since. Once Ryssen left them to mess about with Torchwood 3, she and the Doctor had gone to Argon 5 where they were forced to get married again in order to not die. Since then there'd been four other weddings. What amused her the most was that the Doctor took each of them as serious as the first. She'd finally gotten him to do domestic.

Some time after they'd gotten married the first time (she wasn't sure how long it had been for her and the Doctor but for Jack and Ryssen on Earth it had been six weeks) Rose found out she was pregnant. The Doctor had gone into a hyper, bouncy frenzy that sent them to Earth in twelve different centuries before they hit the right one.

Ryssen had been overjoyed, becoming nearly as hyper as her brother. Jack had grinned and whirled Rose around—which caused the Doctor to pluck her from Jack's grasp and fussed over her for twenty minutes.

Plans had been made and Rose and the Doctor had spent more time on Earth than they ever had. He didn't buy a house, but as Ryssen had bought a huge house, Rose and the Doctor stayed there. Well, they stayed in the TARDIS but the TARDIS was parked in the house.

They'd been so busy that they neglected visiting Jackie. The Doctor was reluctant to return for Christmas as before Rose had found she was pregnant they'd gone every week, and now it had been five weeks.

"Hurry up," Rose said. "We've got to go get Ryssen and Jack."

"Or we could not get Ryssen and Jack and have Christmas here," the Doctor offered.

"No," Rose said. "We're going to mum's for Christmas. She doesn't know about the baby yet."

"But she's going to slap me," the Doctor whined.

"Not if she sees me first," Rose said.

"She's going to slap me when she finds out you're pregnant too," the Doctor said.

"The Oncoming Storm is afraid of my mother," Rose sighed, purposefully egging him on. "This is priceless."

"I am not afraid of Jackie Tyler. And to prove it to you we're going to get Ryssen and Jack. Now," the Doctor said, dumping the armload of presents onto the floor.

Rose grinned at his back as he took them to Ryssen's house. "Ryss?" he called out the door, getting no response. "Oh Ryssen!" He frowned at the continued lack of response. "Jack?...You two had better not be snogging!"

"We're not you loonie," Ryssen said, coming round the corner with a huge sack of presents. "Jack's getting the second bag."

"Two bags?" Rose asked as Ryssen came in the TARDIS.

"Well, there's you two, Jackie, Pete, Mickey, Jake, and all the others that I'm friends with," Ryssen said. "Plus Mickey's present consists of a whole lot of CDs and DVDs."

"Which are very heavy," Jack said as he came into, carrying the other sack.

"Get over it," Ryssen laughed as he closed the doors. "Let's go!"

A minute later they were landing on the Tyler Mansion grounds. "You go first," the Doctor said to Rose. "Jackie won't slap you."

"I'll go first," Ryssen said. She bounced out of the TARDIS.

"Hey!" Jack called. "I am not carrying both of these!"

"I can't hear you!" Ryssen called back teasingly. "Hellooooo!"

"Rose?" came Jackie's call. "Where's Rose?"

"I'm here mum," Rose called. She stepped out of the TARDIS and Jackie practically bowled her over.

"Don't—" the Doctor began.

"I'm fine," Rose said, mostly to reassure the Doctor than Jackie's worried expression. "Mum, we have wonderful news."

"You haven't seen me in ages! That _man_ is in lots of trouble! Where is he?"

"Probably hiding," Ryssen said. "And let her tell you the news. It's fantastic."

"All right, Rose. What's the news?" Jackie asked.

"I'm pregnant, mum," Rose said.

Jackie's jaw dropped. "You're _what?_" she asked. "Oh Rose!" Jackie pulled her daughter into her arms tightly. "Oh this is lovely. Such a wonderful present."

"Is it safe to come out?" Jack asked from inside. "He's pretending to be busy."

"It's safe," Ryssen said. "He can come out."

Jack came out a moment later, pulling the Doctor by the wrist. "Here he is," Jack said. "Please don't hit him. It's Christmas."

"And I need to find Mickey and Jake and Pete and the baby," Ryssen said.

"He's not a baby anymore, you know," Jackie said as she let go of Rose.

"I know. But I like calling him the baby," Ryssen said. "And I've got to go take the presents inside."

"I'll help," Jack said, grabbing the two bags from just inside the TARDIS doors. "And you're carrying one."

"But you're a big, strong, strapping man who should do everything the lady desires," Ryssen said.

"Yeah right," Jack said, shoving a bag in her arms. "Now march."

Ryssen stuck her tongue out at him and the two left, leaving Jackie, Rose, and the Doctor alone. "So," Jackie said. "You got my daughter pregnant."

The Doctor winced. "Well, yes."

_SLAP!_

"Ow!" the Doctor protested, cradling his cheek and attempting to cower behind his wife.

"Mum," Rose said. "Yes. I'm pregnant. He's the father. End of story."

"Well," Jackie sniffed. "At least I get grandchildren. But it's not right that these grandchildren are going to be part alien."

"I married him, mum," Rose said. "Now it's Christmas, try to be happy?"

"Oh, I am happy Rose, you know I just like to complain about him," Jackie said.

"A little too much," the Doctor muttered from behind Rose.

"Don't think I didn't hear that," Jackie said. "Now come along, Jared's been missing his big sister."

Rose and the Doctor followed after Jackie once the remaining presents inside the TARDIS had been retrieved. The first thing they saw when they walked into the mansion was, of course, Jack and Ryssen snogging under some mistletoe.

"Do they do this all the time?" Mickey asked.

"Yup," Rose said. "It gets annoying quickly."

"You could have asked us to stop," Ryssen said as she pulled back from Jack. "And it was a perfect opportunity. Mistletoe and all, you know."

The Doctor ignored her as he said, "So, where do the presents go?"

oOoOoOo

Christmas seemed to be Rose and the Doctor's time. Even with Jackie there, the Doctor seemed to be enjoying himself. Jackie did complain about not having any baby presents ready, but it was mostly for show. The Doctor wasn't the only one enjoying himself. Jack hadn't actually spent Christmas with anyone for longer than he'd like to recall.

And come on, it wasn't like he was going to pass up the opportunity of mistletoe.

The Doctor and Ryssen both got trainers from Rose—Ryssen's were gray and black argyle high tops while the Doctor's were white high tops to replace the ones he had lost on New New New Earth—while the Doctor had given Rose a "proper" pair of trainers. They were pink of course.

Jackie had rolled her eyes and muttered something about fashion, but Ryssen laughed in delight and proceeded to put them on immediately.

And it was later, after Jared had gone to bed and Mickey and Jake were nodding off that Rose stood at one of the large windows looking out at the snow covered grounds.

It had started snowing during dinner and had only just quieted. Actual snow—not ash—had fallen on Christmas.

The Doctor came up behind her and slid his arms around her, hands laid flat against the gentle swell of her stomach. His nose nuzzled her neck and she smiled. "Happy Christmas, Rose," he said.

"Happy Christmas," she murmured.

THE END


End file.
